However, over the course of three seasons he would bounce from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College to the University of Minnesota before becoming academically ineligible and landing at NAIA-level Belhaven University in Jackson. Somehow, Brock remained undeterred.

"I just had to dig down and focus and work hard to get my shot to come to the league," said Brock, a undrafted free agent whose three-year NFL career has been with the San Francisco 49ers.

Throughout his arduous quest to join the NFL, he always had one fan on his side: his mother.

"Even though we may fail and fall sometimes, we go through different tunnels and turns, [you have to persevere]," said Marsha Brock, Tramaine's mother.

Brock has carved a niche on the roster for the 49ers -- he played in more than 60 percent of the special teams snaps in the 2012 season en route to a trip to Super Bowl XLVII.